


Like a one-night stand, but more than one night, and sometimes with dinner

by kindfang



Category: Free!
Genre: (Makoto's daughter/ex-wife I mean), Alternate Universe, Domestic Fluff, Humor, M/M, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Parent/Teacher Relationship, in which Makoto's really bad at this whole 'one-night stand' concept
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-14
Updated: 2015-05-14
Packaged: 2018-03-30 13:44:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3939004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kindfang/pseuds/kindfang
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Makoto should probably stop meeting up with his daughter's art teacher for sex. Probably. Maybe. </p><p>Um.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like a one-night stand, but more than one night, and sometimes with dinner

It all starts at his daughter’s parent-teacher conferences.

  
Well, to be more accurate, it starts the night before his daughter’s parent-teacher conferences, at a bar that isn’t seedy but isn’t at all high-end, when he meets a pair of intense blue eyes glancing his way. Or maybe it starts when he pays for the man’s drink and slides into the seat next to him, intent on chatting him up and finding himself pleasantly surprised at his companion’s dry sense of humor that has him laughing despite himself. Or maybe it starts even later than that, after a few more drinks, a taxi ride to a small but well-kept apartment, and several hours of more adult fun than Makoto’s had in years, let alone during a one-night stand. He’s only a little disappointed when he wakes up to find the man gone, leaving behind a full pot of coffee, a plate of scrambled eggs, and a note explaining that he’s needed at work. It’s understandable, Makoto knows, given that it’s a Monday morning, but he still wishes he’d at least gotten a number.

  
He figures that eventually the name _Haruka_ will fade like all the rest into a pleasant memory to look back on later. That is why, when he arrives a bit late at his daughter’s last parent-teacher conference of the afternoon later that day, he does not at all expect to come face-to-face with Haruka --that is, _Nanase-sensei, my art teacher, he’s so cool dad, you’ll like him_ \-- and that moment, more than any of the others, is when it starts in earnest.

  
“Oh _shit_ ,” Haruka whispers, wide-eyed. He’s still just as pretty as Makoto remembers him being, with smooth, inky black hair, dark eyelashes, and graceful hands, and he can’t decide if that’s better or worse.

  
“You didn’t tell me you were a _teacher_!” Makoto whispers back, leaning across Haruka’s desk.

  
“You didn’t tell _me_ you had kids!”

  
“Oh, sorry, I must have forgotten to mention it while I had my mouth around your--”

  
“We are at an _elementary school_! And when I brought you home with me last night my job didn’t exactly cross my mind, alright? When would I have even brought that up? ‘Ah, yeah, right there-- oh, by the way, I teach elementary schoolers art on the weekdays!’”

  
Makoto rubs a hand down his face, suddenly feeling very, very tired. “Just… what was an elementary school teacher, of all things, doing at a bar on a Sunday night?”

  
“You know _exactly_ what I was doing,” Haruka replies, no longer whispering but still speaking in low tones that remind Makoto a little too much of last night, which is really not needed right now. “And it’s because you were doing the exact same thing. And you were a father at a bar on a Sunday night, so you can’t get snippy with _me_ about that.”

  
“I had a babysitter!” Makoto protests, but he concedes the point.

  
“Look,” Haruka says, leaning across the desk in a way that mirrors Makoto and brings them to eye-level, “I think we should just do our best to forget last night ever happened. This doesn’t have to be an issue.”

  
Before Makoto can voice his agreement, the principal of the school is sliding the door open and asking if Haruka would like to accompany him and the other teachers to an early dinner, and Haruka is gathering his things and readying a polite goodbye. The principal chuckles at Haruka’s obvious eagerness to leave, probably chalking it up to a long afternoon of conferences.

  
“We should really meet up sometime,” Makoto finds himself saying before he can stop himself, “to discuss this.”

  
Haruka pauses and gives him an inscrutable look. After a few seconds he wordlessly nods, and scribbles down his number with Crayola marker on a piece of construction paper. “It was nice meeting you, Tachibana-san,” he murmurs as they all leave into the hallway. “I hope you have a good evening.”

  
“That went pretty well,” Makoto hears the principal say to Haruka from down the echoing hall. “In my experience parents aren’t usually that amiable after being told that their daughter’s been drawing tits on everything.”

  
Makoto takes a minute to compose himself before driving home.

 

 

Friday evening finds Makoto sitting at a cafe that Haruka had suggested, slowly chewing his curry and stewing in the awkward silence between them. Haruka has ordered a plate of grilled mackerel over rice, and doesn’t meet Makoto’s eyes until he is done.

  
“So,” Makoto says, once he has his attention, “I think you’re a really nice person, Haruka-- er, um, Nanase? Okay, Haruka-- and although Sunday was really, really nice, and I thought we hit it off very well, I don’t think that we should see each other outside of school. Because, you know, you’re teaching my daughter, and I know it’s just art class, but I wouldn’t want people thinking things about you that aren’t true or get you fired or something, and my daughter really likes you, so I… Yeah.”

  
“Okay,” Haruka agrees, and Makoto doesn’t really know what he was expecting other than that.

  
After dinner, when they’re waiting outside for Haruka’s cab, is when Haruka next speaks. “You know,” he says, “since this is our last time meeting outside of school, and it _is_ a Friday, and you already have a babysitter, do you want to maybe…?”

  
“ _Yes_ ,” Makoto breathes, and suddenly his hands are threaded through Haruka’s hair while Haruka’s hands grip the back of his shirt, and they make out all the way to Makoto’s car, stopping and then almost immediately resuming after the short drive back to Haruka’s apartment.

  
“We-- _ah_ \-- really shouldn’t-- _ah_ \-- do this,” Haruka gasps between Makoto’s kisses, even as he’s unbuttoning his shirt.

“Yeah, I mean--” Makoto unbuckles his belt. “It would be weird if--” Haruka’s pants are on the floor alongside his shirt. “My daughter had to deal with--” They’re tugging off their boxers. “Me dating her teacher…!”

  
“I totally-- _AH_ \-- understand. We definitely-- the lube’s where it was last time-- we definitely can’t… _ahhh_ … do this… again…! _Makoto_!”

  
“Last time for sure,” Makoto promises, and then they don’t talk again for a while.

 

 

An hour later, they’re lying side by side in Haruka’s bed. Occasionally a car rushes by on the street below, but other than that, it’s finally silent.

  
“That was a bad decision,” Makoto says.

  
“Mhm,” Haruka agrees.

  
“We really shouldn’t do that again.”

  
“Yeah.”

  
“I mean it this time.”

  
“So do I.”

  
Silence falls again, and Makoto briefly fantasizes about reaching two inches to hold Haruka’s hand, but decides against it. He sighs. “I should probably go now.”

  
“Alright.”

  
Makoto doesn’t move. It’s like someone’s tied him to the bed, which he probably wouldn’t be against in another type of situation, but right now he needs to leave. Eventually.

  
“Makoto,” Haruka says after a minute, “Should we… maybe have one more time for the road…?”

  
“Please,” Makoto says, because he’s a weak-willed human being, and Haruka is already sliding down under the covers.

  
He doesn’t leave until dawn, when the first tentative bird calls are sounding through the windows. This time, Haruka is still there, and something in Makoto’s heart flutters as he leans down to brush Haruka’s bangs out of his closed eyes and kiss his forehead before he puts on his clothes and walks out the door.

  
Makoto’s screwed.

 

 

“So,” Nagisa says, after the third time Makoto’s come home late that week, “What’s she like?”

  
“Who?” Makoto asks absently as he makes two cups of coffee in the kitchen.

  
Nagisa sighs loudly from the armchair he’s sprawled himself across. “Oh come on, Mako-chan. I’ve had to babysit Emi-chan probably ten times in the last three weeks, and at least four of those times included me staying overnight at your house and taking her to school in the morning. I know you’re just trying to be discreet, or something, but I’m sure Emi-chan would be fine with you having a girlfriend--”

  
Makoto nearly spills his mug across the countertop. “ _Girlfriend_?!” he splutters. “No, Nagisa, that’s-- I don’t--”

  
“Boyfriend, then, I don’t know! But seriously, Mako-chan, at least tell me about them! I haven’t seen you meet up with anyone this frequently in years, so you _obviously_ like them at least, right? What are they like?”

  
“Um,” Makoto says, feeling a little bit cornered and focusing all his energy on mixing the cream into Nagisa’s coffee, “We’re not-- we’re not really _dating_ , Nagisa, it’s more like, um, a one-night stand thing? But. Um. More than one night. And sometimes with dinner.”

  
Makoto can practically feel Nagisa’s exaggerated eye roll. “Mako-chan, that’s either called dating or a friend with some serious benefits, not a _one-night stand_. Or-- oh my god, Mako-chan, please don’t tell me you’re stringing some poor person along!”

  
“ _No_ , no, we both agreed that it would be best if we didn’t date! Or, um, actually, we both agreed that it would probably be better if we stopped seeing each other entirely, but it kind of just… keeps happening… so. And, I mean, I think it would be _nice_ to be his friend, because he’s really funny and nice and smart and interesting, but I’m not really sure I _am_ his friend, since we mostly just…”

  
Nagisa accepts his cup of coffee from Makoto and leans back into the chair. “This is really sad, Mako-chan,” he says after he takes a thoughtful sip. “Like, Rei-chan post- _Incredible Journey_ sad.”

  
“I know,” Makoto moans. “Believe me, I know.”

 

 

“I’m not a homewrecker, am I?” Haruka asks the next time they’re together. They’re lying in Makoto’s bed this time, after Makoto guiltily realized that he’d never brought Haruka into his house before.

  
“What?” Makoto responds, accidentally getting a tuft of Haruka’s hair stuck in his mouth. He repositions his chin so they’re face-to-face instead of having Haruka tucked into his neck.

  
“I-- You’re not using me to cheat on your wife, are you? Because I know you have a daughter, obviously, and I saw that family photo on the way up here, so I--”

  
“Oh god, no, not at all,” Makoto assures him. He hadn’t even realized Haruka was looking around when they stumbled into the house and up the stairs, but that might have been because his mouth was thoroughly attached to Haruka’s throat at the time. “She left years ago. Don’t worry about that.”

  
Haruka sighs in relief, letting his eyes shutter closed for a moment. “That’s good. Not that she left you, I mean, the thing about me not ruining your family.”

  
“I find it hard to believe you could ruin anything,” Makoto says. He’d meant it to be a joke, but it comes out softer than he expected.

  
“Oh,” Haruka says, a blush spreading across his cheeks. Makoto can feel his ears turning hot and knows he probably isn’t much better. “Um. Thank you.”

  
“No problem.” Makoto feels so awkward he wants to die.

  
“If it’s any consolation, I find it hard to believe anyone would want to leave you.” Haruka’s hidden his face in Makoto’s neck again, so Makoto can’t quite catch his expression when he says that, but he definitely feels something in his chest stop as his breath catches in his throat.

  
“Ahaha, well, you know,” Makoto says, knowing he can’t just end their conversation on that entirely too romantic note, “We both had our own interests, and after a while it just… stopped working between us, so we decided it would be better for Emi in the long run if we quit while we were ahead. We’re still friends, and Emi and I videochat with her in China, sometimes, so it’s not that bad...”

  
Makoto doesn’t really know if there are rules for this type of casual relationship, but he’s pretty sure that talking about his ex-wife breaks at least a couple hundred of them. You don’t just talk about your amiable divorce with a _casual acquaintance_. The last time Makoto had really talked about this at all was two years ago with Nagisa, after his small mental breakdown over the possibility of ruining Emi’s life. Even worse is that Haruka isn’t saying anything, and Makoto wonders if he’s screwed all of this up terribly. Not that there is a _this_ , really, because it’s _casual_.

  
“Mm,” Haruka eventually hums, face still hidden. “That isn’t bad at all. I never really talked much with my parents after they moved out, so I’m sure Emi’s happier like this. She’s always smiling in class. She still draws breasts on everything, though, so that might be a part of it.”

  
Makoto laughs and tries to ignore the sudden electrifyingly personal atmosphere. When Haruka suggests another round a few minutes later, he agrees, and they do their best to dispel the domesticity of the situation.

 

 

“Hey, Onii-chan,” Ran chirps through the telephone. “Ren and I are picking up dinner tonight to bring over to your house, and we were wondering if your boyfriend wanted something from the Italian place you like.”

  
“What?” Makoto says dumbly, and there’s a rush of static as Ran sighs.

  
“We’ve heard you talking to him while you’re on the phone with us, Onii-chan, and also when we stayed over last week Ren saw him climbing out your window. He thought you were getting robbed or something, but I pointed out that a robber wouldn’t have been carrying his shoes and jacket on his arm, so we went back to sleep. Seriously, though, we’re almost at the Italian place, and we all know that your boyfriend’s going to be there unless you’re mean and kick him out, and I _know_ you’re not mean, Onii-chan, so does he want dinner or not?”

  
Makoto glances at Haruka, who is curled up in his boxers and one of Makoto’s old t-shirts on the couch and leafing through a book. Emi is with Nagisa tonight watching movies, and Makoto knows he still has a while before he has to pick her up. After a brief but intense internal battle, Makoto sighs and cups a hand over the receiver.

  
“Hey, Haruka,” he says, prompting Haruka to put down his book. “My siblings are coming over with dinner, and they already know you’re here, so do you… want anything…? They’re bringing Italian.”

  
Haruka looks thoughtful before requesting lobster ravioli, which Makoto relays to Ran. Haruka doesn’t comment on… whatever is happening here, so neither does Makoto. It’s all so surreal that Makoto is almost convinced that he’s actually just having a very vivid dream. Did this count as introducing Haruka to his family?

  
The twins are at the door not half an hour later carrying bags of warm takeout, which they take straight to the kitchen table after a quick hello to Makoto. Makoto is helping them lay it all out when Haruka glides into the room, hair mussed and still wearing Makoto’s shirt, though he’s put his jeans from earlier back on. Ran’s eyebrows go up and she furiously elbows Ren, who, when he sees Haruka, has a similar reaction. Makoto’s almost offended at their looks of disbelief when Haruka goes to stand by his side, waiting to be introduced.

  
“Ran, Ren, this is Haruka--” Makoto starts, only to be cut off almost immediately by Ran.

  
“You’re so much prettier than I thought you would be!” she says, astonished, and Makoto kind of wants to die again, if possible.

  
The corner of Haruka’s mouth quirks up, but he issues an even “Thanks” nonetheless.

  
The next few minutes pass by relatively normally (well, not _normally_ , considering the situation, but they’re not too awkward, at least) as everyone sits down to eat their dinner. The twins talk in that back-and-forth way they’ve perfected over the years about school and sports practice and friends, which Ren artfully segues into smalltalk about Haruka’s own life. Makoto learns that his best friend lives in Australia as a professional swimmer, that he grew up mostly by himself in a little town not too far from where Makoto and the twins used to live, that he’s a painter on the side and has even had some of his works put up in galleries.

  
Before he even realizes what’s happening, Makoto is _fascinated_ by Haruka, and by his life. Despite a lack of communication being what led to this whole complicated mess, neither of them have ever really gone into detail about the little things during their time together. In his mind’s eye, Makoto can see more and more “one-night stand” rules being broken beyond repair, but he can’t find it in himself to end the relaxed mood of the conversation.

  
Finally, of course, the subject of Emi is brought up. “I’m sure she’s being pumped full of sugar with Nagisa around so much, huh,” Ran jokes.

  
Haruka gives her a wry smile. “Like she needs the extra energy. She’s always running to get places as it is.”

  
The twins pause mid-bite, a suspicious look crossing their faces. “I didn’t think you’d met Emi-chan before,” Ren says carefully, “Since last time we saw you, you were sneaking out of the house. How long have you been dating, again?”

  
Makoto scrambles to reply with a “We’re really not dating!” even as Haruka says “I’m Emi’s art teacher.”

  
Makoto slowly lowers his head to rest on the table, but he can still _hear_ the withering looks on his siblings’ faces when Ran says “Oh my _god_ , Makoto.”

  
“You’re a mess,” Ren agrees.

  
Haruka snorts.

 

 

The twins leave long after Haruka does, but not before they both impress upon Makoto just how _pretty_ and _funny_ and _cool_ Haruka is, which Makoto definitely already knows, and not before Ren asks Makoto to give Haruka his number “if you can’t get your act together and Haruka gets tired of putting up with this nonsense,” to which Ran agrees and asks if her number could be passed along, too, if he’s into girls at all.

  
Most important, though, is the message _you have to tell Emi-chan, you dummy_ , and Makoto tries and fails to find a reason against that.

  
“Emiko,” Makoto says the next day, as he and Emi are preparing lunch side-by-side.

  
Emi barely glances up from where she’s rolling dough on her step-stool. “Mhm?” She’s adorable, Makoto thinks, in her tiny apron gifted to her by Rei on her last birthday, with a smear of flour across her nose. Her hair is pulled into two uneven pigtails, courtesy of herself, and she hasn’t lost any of the babyish roundness in her face just yet. Makoto wonders if he ought to invest in a camera sometime. “--Daddy, you got distracted again! You have to finish your conversation.”

  
Makoto chuckles sheepishly. “Aha, sorry, sorry, Emi. You just look so cute, you know?”

  
Emi shrieks with laughter when he leans down to tickle her, batting his hands away from her ribs with the rolling pin. “Stop, stop! Keep talking! Why did you say my name?”

  
“Ah,” Makoto says, nervousness beginning to overcome his good mood, “well. Emiko, you know I love your mother very much, and would never try to replace her--”

  
Emi rolls her eyes. “I _know_ , dad. You only tell me that three times a week.”

  
“--but that doesn’t mean I can’t love other people, too, though of course I would never choose someone who you don’t like--”

  
“I _knoooooow_.”

  
“--and that’s why I thought you should know that I’m kind of sort of seeing someone right now. Kind of. Um.”

  
Emi stops kneading the dough and turns to face him fully, her entire face lighting up. “Nagi-chan said you had a special secret! Daddy, are you dating someone?”

  
And _of course_ it would be Emi who finally gets Makoto to admit that maybe what he’s been doing with Haruka might be considered dating, but faced with sixty pounds of adorable enthusiasm, he finally meets his end. “Yeah,” he breathes. “Yeah, Emi, I think I might be dating someone.”

 

 

The issue of _who_ , of course, is slightly more complicated; despite Haruka teaching a pass-or-fail elementary art class, of all things, parent/teacher relationships are not exactly sanctioned by the school board. Makoto promises Emi that he’ll tell her as soon as he can, and he’s pretty sure she thinks he’s dating a government spy or something, but for now she’s stopped asking questions about daddy’s mystery date.

  
Haruka is… surprisingly nonchalant when Makoto admits that he mentioned to his daughter that they’re dating, for lack of a better term, and Makoto wonders if maybe he was the only one wrestling with this whole internal debate after all.

  
“So,” Haruka says, after Makoto’s dramatic reveal, “is this… Are you asking me out?” They’re in a cafe at eight AM on a Sunday morning, and even Makoto is forced to admit that taking someone out for coffee the morning after is more ‘relationship’ than ‘one-night stand.’ Haruka sips his tea and patiently waits for a reply.

  
“I--” Makoto stutters, trying to compose himself, “I… I guess I am, yeah.”

  
“In that case,” Haruka says, cool as anything, “I’m going to have to turn you down.”

  
Makoto feels like the world just crashed down around his ears. Did he read the situation totally wrong? Does Haruka not think of him that way at all? Because now that he’s been forced to look at it in this light, Makoto has found that he really, _really_ likes Haruka in ways that he’s not entirely comfortable with admitting just yet, and having Haruka not even wanting to give him a chance--

  
“Makoto,” Haruka says. A soft hand on Makoto’s cheek accompanied by one of Haruka’s rare smiles snaps him out of his panic. “Emi graduates from my class in a month. Ask me then.”

  
Makoto laughs, feeling the tension drain out of him all at once. “Harukaaa, you scared me! I thought that--”

  
“Haru,” Haruka interrupts. “My… My friends all call me Haru. I prefer Haru.”

  
Makoto beams across the table at him, and Haruka nervously tucks a piece of hair behind his ear and stares into his cup. “Haru,” Makoto says warmly, testing the name on his tongue. “Will you wait a month for me, then, Haru?”

  
“Of course,” Haruka replies immediately. Then, a bit more hesitantly, “But in the meantime, can we still…--”

  
“Oh, thank god, I didn’t want to ask about that in case you meant wait on _all_ of it, and I didn’t want to seem insensitive, but-- Yes. Yes. Definitely yes.”

  
Makoto has never been more thankful for his minivan with its collapsible seats and inexplicably tinted windows.

 

 

“Dad,” Emi says, “who’s the extra seat for?”

  
Her tone of voice tells him that she already knows, but Makoto humors her anyway. “It’s for my date, Emi. They just had a couple of things to do before they could come.” Emi smiles and continues to browse the kids’ menu, seemingly content with his vague answer.

  
The twins shoot him smiles, too, though with more eyebrow-wiggling, and Nagisa gives an exaggerated sigh. “Mako-chan, am I the _only_ one who doesn’t know about your mysterious date-person? Me? Your _best friend_ in the _entire universe_? I bet you even told Rei-chan.”

  
Rei looks up from his menu and pushes his glasses back up on the bridge of his nose. “Nagisa, I don’t know anything other than what you’ve told me. By ‘told,’ of course, I mean ‘shouted at me enthusiastically,’ but that’s neither here nor there.”

  
“Isn’t that how Nagisa always talks, though?” Makoto says innocently. Nagisa’s boyfriend does his best to hide his smile, but Nagisa still pouts when the twins laugh.

  
“Emi-chan,” he moans, clasping both her hands in his, “Do _you_ have any clues for me? Any at all? C’mon, it’s summer vacation now, how can we have _fun_ if I don’t _know_?”

  
Emi giggles, but shakes her head all the same. “Daddy says it’s a secret! I don’t know them at all.”

  
“Actually--” Ran begins, but she’s cut off when Makoto stands up with a quick apology and goes to greet someone at the front of the restaurant. Their entire table turns to watch as he pulls someone into an embrace, then takes them by the hand and points out where they’re sitting. Nagisa doesn’t recognize the man, but it seems that Emi does, with the way her eyes widen almost comically.

  
“No way,” she whispers giddily to herself.

  
“Isn’t he way more gorgeous than you thought he would be?” Ren whispers. Nagisa’s forced to agree; he lets out a low whistle which is immediately shushed by an embarrassed Rei.

  
“Hey, everyone,” Makoto begins once he’s made his way back over. He sounds happier than he has been about any non-Emi-related subject in a while. “This is Haruka-- Haru. He’s--”

  
“Nanase-sensei!” Emi squeals, unable to hold it in any longer. Rei chokes on his drink and Nagisa gives Makoto a lewd wink, which he does his best to ignore. “Daddy, you’re dating _Nanase-sensei_! This is so _cool_!”

  
“You can just call me Haru, now,” Haruka says softly but kindly, “since I’m not your teacher anymore.” Emi’s eyes shine even brighter.

  
“Wow, Makoto,” Nagisa says playfully. “I didn’t think you had it in you! Your daughter’s teacher, huh?”

  
Makoto and Haruka both flush red, to Nagisa’s delight. “We actually met before we knew--” Makoto says, only to get interrupted by Ran’s gleeful announcement that “they were a _mess_ , Nagi-chan!” which prompts an equally amused “I _know_!” from Nagisa. Makoto hides his face in his hands.

  
“Daddy has it so bad, Haru-sensei,” Emi whispers conspiratorially in Haruka’s ear once he’s seated. “He talks about you all the time.”

  
Haruka smiles, and whispers back, “I really like him, too, Emiko. Even if he _is_  kind of silly sometimes.”

  
Emi giggles and whispers something else probably equally as embarrassing into Haruka’s ear, to which Haruka glances at Makoto and laughs behind his hand, and amidst all the chaos Makoto thinks that his world might be falling apart in the best way possible.

  
And if it really hadn’t started at all before this, then it definitely starts when Emi asks during dessert when they’re getting married.

 

 

(They do get married, eventually, and Emi only draws hyperrealistic breasts on a quarter of the invites.)

**Author's Note:**

> first finished fic in a while, but it's just a shortie. jay & i have some pretty hilarious conversations abt free! aus and i really need to write more of them sometime lmao 
> 
> anyway! come hmu at lokiodinson on tumblr if you're ever feelin the need to discuss hilarious makoharu meet-cute aus!


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